Sheet Press - Just like My Grandmother's

Before the invention of perma-press sheets and clothes dryers, cotton bed sheets needed to be ironed to be smooth and comfortable. Ironing sheets was viewed as a normal household task.

My grandmother, who had eleven children, had a lot of sheets to launder and iron...

When he started working, one of her sons gave her a large rotary press as a gift. It was the ultimate luxury. All she had to do was sit at the machine, fold the sheets, close the hot press on them, and the machine would roll the sheets through.

I wonder what happened to Grandma's press? I asked myself recently... That would be a real antique.

Imagine my surprise when, not long afterwards, I saw this one, very much like my grandmother's, in an appliance store!


I didn't know they made those anymore, I told the salesman. Is it used for commercial ironing?

No, for household use - for ironing things like table cloths.

(Tablecloths?! No wonder I don't need one. I rarely use them anymore!)